On Second Thought

First we were plucked from the edge of the fiscal cliff. Now we need to be saved from the looming debt ceiling. Then, automatic spending cuts will push us to the cliff again in March. Let’s face it, as superheroes go, politicians are pretty lame.

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Have you checked you paycheck stubs? We might not have fallen off a cliff, but we definitely lost altitude.

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What’s next? A “we’re tied to the tracks and the train is coming” crisis? If so, someone needs to untie Greece from the tracks, first.

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A newspaper back east created controversy recently by publishing the names and addresses of all concealed-weapons holders in its area. Word has it the next target will be all New Yorkers who possess soft drinks in quantities larger than 16 ounces.

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Meanwhile, Springdale, Utah, decided to take a different route. The City Council was mulling an ordinance to require everyone in town to posses a gun. No word on whether the mayor and city council would be required to have bigger guns than everyone else.

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Washington can’t seem to get around to eliminating pennies, which pile up in sock drawers, but the Treasury may soon begin minting a trillion-dollar coin. Wait until Uncle Sam tries to break one of those at a 7-Eleven.

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The $1 trillion coin is the Obama administration’s latest threat in its battle to get Congress to increase the nation’s debt ceiling. In laymen’s terms, it’s like getting the mother of all credit cards.

The Post Office may want to consider creating a trillion-dollar stamp. All it would take is for the government to mail one letter.

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Then the coin could circulate to the Social Security Administration, the military and even the NHL. There could be no end to the organizations it saves. The good news is soon we’ll all have these coins in our pockets. The bad news is we’ll need them just to buy a loaf of bread.

Jay Evensen is the associate editor of the Deseret News editorial page. Follow him on Twitter @jayevensen.